Can You Freeze Buttercream?

Updated onAugust 9, 2017

A cake isn’t complete without buttercream frosting! But if you’ve got more butter cream than you can handle, how do you store the leftovers? Can you freeze butter cream? You’d be surprised at how easy to store butter cream in the freezer. What’s more, butter cream keeps so well in the freezer. The high sugar content of the frosting is the secret to its long shelf life.

Imagine cutting the time it takes to whip up a cake by half simply by making butter cream ahead of time. When you’re ready to decorate the cake, just thaw your make-ahead butter cream. When kept in the fridge, butter cream should last for 2 weeks or so. But when kept in the freezer, its shelf life is extended to 3 months. Although frozen butter cream has a long shelf life, we still recommend making the frosting in small batches, just so the texture and flavor remain the same after thawing. Here is a step by step guide on how can you freeze butter cream:

How to Freeze Butter Cream?

Butter cream is best stored in a resealable plastic bag because the bag can be used to “pipe” the butter cream onto a cake once you’re ready to decorate. To prepare the butter cream for freezing, get several resealable, heavy-duty plastic bags and a spoon or a cookie scoop. Scoop the leftover butter cream into the bag, carefully filling it with the cream but leaving an inch of space.

Squeeze as much air as you can before sealing the plastic bag. Get a marker, write the storage date then stick the butter cream in the freezer. Make sure to lay the plastic bag flatly in the freezer. Keep the temperature at a steady 0 degrees Fahrenheit for best results.

How to Defrost Frozen Butter Cream?

To thaw frozen butter cream, take the bag out of the freezer and cover it with a dishtowel. Leave the butter cream to thaw at room temperature for an hour or two. Once the butter cream is soft enough to be squeezed, cut the corner of the plastic bag using a pair of scissors then squeeze the cream out of the bag into a bowl. At this point, the butter cream will have a runnier texture since it’s freshly thawed. Don’t worry, you can restore its original consistency with ease.

Using a spatula, mix the thawed butter cream lightly to get the consistency right. Then, go ahead and add a little powdered sugar to thicken the cream. Keep mixing to eliminate all the air bubbles. When the butter cream is nice and smooth, it’s now ready to be used!

Summary

Freezing butter cream is so easy and convenient especially for those who love making desserts from scratch! Now that you know how can you freeze butter cream, there’s absolutely no need to worry about wasting the leftover cream. You can maximize the extra butter cream by storing it for later uses. That means more of your favorite desserts!